Carmelito, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carmelito
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Former planned settlement
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 Carmelito
Location in California
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Monterey County |
| Elevation | 45 ft (7 m) |
Carmelito was a town that was planned but never fully built. It was first called Point Lobos City. This planned town was located in Monterey County, California, near a beautiful area called Point Lobos. It was about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Carmel along Highway 1.
In 1890, a company called the Carmelo Land and Coal Company decided to create Carmelito. They had a coal mine nearby, but it wasn't making money. So, they decided to sell land instead. They divided the land into 1,000 small pieces, called parcels. These parcels were sold for $25 to $50 each. However, not many people bought them. There was no bridge over the Carmel River, which made it hard to get there. Also, the country faced two economic problems in the 1890s. Because of these reasons, only a few small cabins were ever built.
History of Carmelito
In 1898, a man named Alexander M. Allan bought 640 acres (259 hectares) of Point Lobos. He was a successful architect and real estate developer from Illinois. Allan and his wife, Satie, loved the natural beauty of the area. They were worried about the many visitors who came to see the rare Monterey Cypress trees and the stunning coastline.
To protect the land, they put up toll gates. They also stopped people from camping there. Visitors had to pay 50 cents per vehicle to enter. This amount would be about $10 today. Allan bought back the land that had been divided into parcels. He then had the county remove the plans for the subdivision. Years later, in the 1950s, Alexander's daughter, Eunice Riley, bought the very last of these subdivided lots.
Protecting Point Lobos
By the mid-1920s, a group called the Save the Redwoods League wanted to protect the special Monterey Cypress trees. They hired a famous landscape architect named Frederick Law Olmsted. His job was to study Point Lobos and find the most important areas to save.
Olmsted wrote a report saying that Point Lobos was "the most outstanding example" of beautiful rock and ocean scenery. He also noted its unique plants, especially the Monterey Cypress trees. In 1933, three years after Alexander Allan passed away, the State of California bought 348 acres (141 hectares) from the Allan family. They paid $631,000 for it. This land became the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.
The Allan family also gave the state an extra 15 acres (6 hectares) of land. This land had many cypress trees and was at the western tip of Point Lobos. They donated it as a special memorial to Alexander and Satie Allan.
